tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1582393058773719422014-10-05T00:19:54.522-05:00Friends Action Network News and Updatesmnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.comBlogger315125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-33646404430576549522011-05-24T14:21:00.000-05:002011-05-24T14:22:27.526-05:00Budget bills vetoed; Letters postedGov. Mark Dayton vetoed all nine budget bills today and returned the bills to the Legislature along with veto messages outlining areas of both agreement and concern in each of the bills. Here is Gov. Dayton's press release on the veto of all nine bills. Here is the higher education letter. Here is the state government letter.mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-24545565891252124482011-05-24T01:08:00.001-05:002011-05-24T01:09:44.658-05:00Session concludes with no deal; What comes next?The Legislature is heading into overtime. Both bodies worked up until midnight, the House debating the Outdoor Legacy funding bill (which never received a vote due to time running out) and the Senate delivering end-of-session speeches. Gov. Dayton and Republican legislative leaders were unable to reach a budget deal, which means Dayton will need to call lawmakers back to St. Paul in order to passmnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-22483393265569917312011-05-23T08:53:00.001-05:002011-05-23T08:55:37.396-05:00Final day of session; Will a compromise be reached?Today is the last day of the regular legislative session and both the House and Senate are expected to go into session at 10:00 a.m. While Gov. Dayton and Republican leadership met over the weekend to try and reach an agreement on the budget, they are still at odds over revenue. Gov. Dayton said the budget cuts proposed in the spending bills are too drastic, while Republicans have said this is mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-45718959650565835642011-05-21T17:44:00.002-05:002011-05-21T17:46:42.552-05:00House and Senate to meet; Negotiations continueThe House goes back into session today at 10 a.m. and the Senate goes in at 11. The Senate State Government Innovation and Veterans committee is taking up the omnibus retirement bill today at 1 p.m. or at the call of the chair in room 123 of the Capitol. On the House floor last night, Republicans tried to pass a bonding bill focused on flood relief but were not able to get the 81 votes (super mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-46338241510715190322011-05-20T08:51:00.001-05:002011-05-20T08:53:11.312-05:00Budget talks continue; Negotiations in works?With only four days remaining, there is still no global budget agreement; however, don't count them out yet. Four days is a long time in the legislative world. Both bodies have passed all 10 budget bills now and have sent them to Gov. Dayton. The Senate took up the higher education conference report on the floor yesterday evening and passed it by a vote of 35-31. The bill now heads to the mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-2371407792339532412011-05-19T09:08:00.000-05:002011-05-19T09:09:43.018-05:00Budget bills pass; Vetoes expectedThe Senate debated the state government conference report for almost five hours yesterday on the floor before passing it by a vote of 37-29. Democratic members delivered passionate speeches on the floor about the value of state employees given the reductions in the bill that affect state employees. The House also took up the state government bill and passed it 70-62. There was discussion on the mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-63882240591750132622011-05-18T10:36:00.001-05:002011-05-18T10:41:48.953-05:00Conference committee reports moved; Governor's plan voted downYesterday at the CapitolThere is movement at the Capitol. Higher education finance bill conferees signed the conference report and posted both versions, signed and unsigned. The House took up the bill last night and passed it by a vote of 69-57. The Senate is expected to take it up today. Here is a link to the signed conference report:HF1101A: Omnibus higher education finance bill (signed)The mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-26744739948139444752011-05-17T09:15:00.001-05:002011-05-17T09:17:01.403-05:00Governor Dayton asks lawmakers to meet in middle; Leadership not so keenYesterday at the CapitolGov. Dayton held a press conference yesterday morning to discuss the offer he made to legislative leadership to "meet them halfway" on the remaining $3.6 billion budget deficit after the agreed-upon postponement of the shift in school aid payments. Dayton offered $1.8 billion in spending cuts and $1.8 billion additional tax revenues, which is a drop from his original mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-30532069770799802212011-05-16T09:00:00.001-05:002011-05-16T09:02:32.593-05:00Final countdown to session end; Schedules postedExactly one week from today, the Legislature is required to adjourn according to the constitution (the first Monday after the third Saturday in May for you trivia buffs). The House and Senate met in floor sessions Saturday and took up multiple bills off the general calendar. Conference committees also worked over the weekend and crafted draft budget bills. Conferees have not signed the reports, mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-57571935141651715672011-05-13T15:26:00.001-05:002011-05-13T15:28:08.291-05:00Higher education committee finalizes bill; Mankato students walk 90 miles to capitolYesterday at the CapitolConferees wrapped up the higher education finance bill last night. The cut for the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system ended up at $130 million over the 2012-2013 biennium from the fiscal year 2011 base doubled. (If you look at the numbers from the FY2012-2013 forecasted base, it is a $180 million cut over the biennium). The total appropriation for the system mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-69717295269984091922011-05-11T09:03:00.002-05:002011-05-11T09:06:40.990-05:00Capital investment committee considers bonding; Education bill moves; Budget negotiations continueYesterday at the CapitolThe House Capital Investment committee met yesterday and after working through a flurry of amendments, passed HF 959, which provides bond authorization for $28 million for flood hazard mitigation. The bill also reduces authorization for several prior year projects where money has not yet been spent. The bill heads next to the Ways and Means committee. Committee Chair Larrymnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-69269692076037228242011-05-10T12:12:00.001-05:002011-05-10T12:15:17.948-05:00State government discusses salary freeze; House passes education policy bill; Schedules postedYesterday at the CapitolIn the state government conference committee yesterday morning, there was much discussion regarding the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system's state employees. Russ Stanton with the Inter Faculty Organization, testified that the IFO supports the House language that exempts the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system faculty and administrators from the mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-85331531595042331832011-05-09T09:31:00.001-05:002011-05-09T09:32:47.484-05:00Final weeks of session; Schedules postedThe constitutional adjournment date is just two weeks from today, so quite a bit of conference committee activity is expected this week this week. A higher education conference committee has not been announced yet, so stay tuned. Today at the Capitol8:30 AMConference committee on SF1047: Omnibus state government finance billRoom: 112 CapitolChairs: Rep. Lanning and Sen. ParryHOUSE CONFEREES: mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-74909699635263045372011-05-06T09:28:00.002-05:002011-05-06T09:32:27.539-05:00Teacher candidates requirements defined; Schedules postedYesterday at the CapitolThe House passed SF 170 as amended on the floor yesterday by a vote of 91-39. The bill requires teacher candidates to pass a reading, writing and math basic skills test before being granted an initial teaching license. Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan, amended the bill to remove the language that requires colleges and universities offering a Board of Teaching approved teacher mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-70481941173662686322011-05-05T14:41:00.000-05:002011-05-05T14:42:22.834-05:00Committees process bills; Schedules postedYesterday at the CapitolAs committees meet to push through policy bills before the final deadline Friday, conference committees continue to meet. Some of the conference committees are beginning to adopt provisions that are the same or similar between the House and Senate versions, including the state government conference committee. But yesterday Gov. Dayton asked Republican legislative leaders mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-63409309144555444802011-05-04T09:57:00.004-05:002011-05-04T10:01:50.705-05:00Chancellor, faculty, students testify for system; Schedules postedYesterday at the CapitolThe higher education conference committee met yesterday afternoon and heard testimony from those organizations affected by the House and Senate bills. Testifying on behalf of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system was Chancellor Jim McCormick who asked conferees to provide the system with as much flexibility as possible so that there are tools available to mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-23976938608706748742011-05-03T09:03:00.003-05:002011-05-03T09:11:17.813-05:00Senior citizen eligibility for classes passed; Schedules postedYesterday at the CapitolOn the House floor yesterday, HF 821, a bill that reduces the age for senior citizens to receive reduced tuition from the age 66 to 62, passed by a vote of 126-4. This provision is also included in both the House and Senate versions of the higher education finance omnibus bill. This would reverse the law passed last session that increased the age from 62 to 66. The higher mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-84556373840845593522011-05-02T09:07:00.001-05:002011-05-02T09:09:54.833-05:00Weekly legislative schedule postedToday at the Capitol10:15 AMHouse Ways and Means Room: 200 State Office Building Chair: Rep. Mary Liz Holberg Agenda: HF4 (Downey) State workforce reduction required, and early retirement program created.HF66 (Drazkowski) Political contribution refund repealed.HF873 (Garofalo) Education finance obsolete language removed.HF874 (Garofalo) Education finance obsolete language removed.HF1230 (Fabian) mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-9435573694166573262011-04-29T16:35:00.003-05:002011-04-29T16:39:30.471-05:00Final countdown to session end; Voter Id moves; Governor Jeb Bush in town; Education reform discussedLegislative UpdateApril 29, 2011The countdown beginsWith three weeks remaining before the constitutionally required adjournment date of May 23, the landscape looks like this; $5 billion state budget deficit, Gov. Mark Dayton wants to solve $2.5 billion of it in tax increases, and the Republican Legislature wants to solve all of it with spending cuts. Both legislative leadership and the governor mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-47986844187938466132011-04-29T09:41:00.001-05:002011-04-29T09:43:40.236-05:00Voter ID bill passes Senate; Higher Education conference committee set to meetYesterday at the CapitolThe Senate passed the voter ID bill yesterday by a partisan vote of 37-26. The bill would amend statute to require all Minnesota residents to present photo ID when voting. Author of the bill Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove, said the legislation would modernize the state voting system and bring back integrity. In the House, the most recent stop for the companion bill was mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-51178824471751932182011-04-28T10:46:00.000-05:002011-04-28T10:50:10.142-05:00Deadline looms; Voting amendment may go on ballotYesterday at the CapitolWith only two more days left before the first policy bill deadline midnight on Friday, both bodies are busy hearing bills. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, said budget discussions will start to heat up again once the policy bills are out of the way. Also yesterday, a bill was introduced by Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, that would propose an amendment to the mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-83907162207296369582011-04-27T08:23:00.002-05:002011-04-27T08:25:52.004-05:00Education Reform discussed; Governor calls for budget actionYesterday at the CapitolFormer Florida Governor Jeb Bush was in Minnesota yesterday talking with legislators about education reform. Bush discussed successful efforts he led that include giving schools grades and providing vouchers for students in failing schools. DFL lawmakers held a press conference afterward and argued this is not the time to bring in governor's from other states to talk aboutmnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-14505779871637633562011-04-26T08:47:00.000-05:002011-04-26T08:48:19.252-05:00Lawmakers back at it; Conference committees set to meetLawmakers return to St. Paul today after a week-long recess in their home districts. Due to the snow last week, the Republican leadership fly-around was postponed until yesterday. GOP leaders set the tone for the final weeks of the 2011 legislative session. Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, said there is room for compromise, and leadership will cooperate with Gov. Dayton. "We're just mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-19423583058221682792011-04-15T08:43:00.001-05:002011-04-20T09:09:04.714-05:00Lawmakers discuss session; Schedules postedYesterday at the CapitolThe higher education finance omnibus conference committee met briefly yesterday afternoon and House Researcher Kathy Novak walked through the side-by-side of the House and Senate bills, and Fiscal Analyst Doug Berg walked through the funding in both bills. There was no discussion, and no votes were taken. Conference Committee Chairs Rep. Bud Nornes, R-Fergus Falls and Sen.mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-158239305877371942.post-60579931335915523322011-04-14T10:08:00.001-05:002011-04-14T10:08:55.703-05:00Governor hosts higher education round table; Schedules postedYesterday at the CapitolA panel of higher education leaders, faculty, students and staff met yesterday at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul for Gov. Dayton's round table discussion on higher education. Dayton heard directly from students, faculty and administrators about the impact of the House and Senate proposed budget cuts, and discussed the future of higher education. Chancellor Jim mnscufanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03226711608317096381noreply@blogger.com0